President-elect Joe Biden has been mirroring America's fears over environment and climate change. For the American people, recurring wildfires and extreme storms have become a big issue and Biden seems to be in agreement with them.

He has already said that climate change is the number one issue facing humanity. For Biden, climate change is an issue and also a thought, where he stands in stark contrast to his opponent and current US President Donald Trump. While Trump had negated the environmental impact, Biden, it seems, already has a plan and also a budget to take on climate change.

Biden plans a $2 trillion chest to take climate change head on. His plan includes making the US a zero-carbon polluting country by 2050 and switch lanes to renewable energy. This chest of money is to be invested over ten years, during which he also expects other institutions and companies to take the lead in clean and green technologies. Currently, the US is number two in carbon emissions after China but historically it stands at number one in emissions.

As the US stands on the verge of leaving the Paris agreement on climate change—which brings countries together on a common platform to keep global temperatures in check—Biden has already said that he is in favor of the US rejoining the international agreement. There cannot be a more telling comment on environment and climate change by a political leader, who has publicly announced a u-turn on the current administration's policy.

Biden's $2 trillion plan is not rhetoric. It spans the automobile sector, agriculture, manufacturing, construction and housing as well as the power sector. Once set in motion, Biden could turn the country into a leader in green technologies and green living. He has already put a deadline of 2030 for some of his ideas to be executed.

On the anvil will be zero emission cars and public transport as well as more electric vehicles. This also entails moving away from the powerful oil industry, which might not be easy.

Biden is not looking at climate change in isolation. He has already joined the dots. He thinks environment and economy are two parts of the same ecosystem. The opening sentence on his website is telling: "From coastal towns to rural farms to urban centers, climate change poses an existential threat–not just to our environment, but to our health, our communities, our national security, and our economic well-being…"

Biden plans to make the US a powerhouse in terms of clean energy technologies. Under his scheme of things, the US can become the world’s clean energy superpower and in doing so create high-quality, middle-class jobs. He is also thinking of exporting the zero carbon technologies and use climate change as an opportunity to push up the covid-stuck economy also.

Interestingly, Biden and his compatriot Kamala Harris showed courage by putting up climate change as one of their important campaign agendas. Both have been talking about how a bad environment has been impacting people. It is not just the economic link to environment and climate change, they have linked it up with people and how extreme environment events are already destroying lives and property.

Just look at this tweet by Biden. On May 25, he tweeted: "Climate change poses an existential threat to our future — and time is running out to address it. We have to get Donald Trump out of the White House and tackle the challenge head-on."

Similarly, linking up people with climate change and extreme weather events, Harris tweeted on September 11: "Horrifying images coming out of the Bay Area due to ongoing wildfires. Climate change is not some distant future. There’s no denying that it’s here, and it’s banging on our doorstep."

https://indianarrative.com/world/biden-may-follow-trumps-china-policy-minus-bluster-20213.html

The two Democrats also think that a poor environment impacts the vulnerable and people of color more than it does the rich and the powerful. They have made it clear that a cleaner environment and reduced fossil fuels will enable the US to take the global leadership position in making the world a better place.

With Biden about to step into the White House, the global narrative on climate change and environment is set to change. For the nay-sayers and those who think climate change is fiction, US is about to embark upon an ambitious new journey as Biden has his plan of action clear. He seems set to exploit the climate change challenge for the benefit of people and economy with a view to pushing the US to the pole position in matters of environment and sustainability..